New Rules To Boost Vehicle Safety

Only cars meeting approved frontal impact standards will be
allowed to be registered for use on New Zealand roads from
April, Transport Minister Mark Gosche announced
today.

The new requirement is one of a several signed by
the Minister this week, all aimed at improving the safety of
New Zealand vehicles.

“One third of all fatal crashes and
nearly half of the injury crashes in New Zealand last year
involved a frontal impact.

“Australian research shows that
vehicle occupants are 25% less likely to be killed or
seriously injured in a crash when the vehicle complies with
frontal impact standards, so rules governing frontal impact
standards are a crucial tool for reducing the road
toll.”

The Land Transport Safety Authority estimates that
as many as 85 lives could be saved, and thousands of
injuries prevented, over the next 18 years as a result of
the new requirements, Mr Gosche said.

Frontal impact
systems use a combination of safety features such as airbags
and "crumple zones" to protect vehicle occupants in head-on
crashes and other frontal impacts.

The change means that
most Japanese vehicles manufactured before frontal impact
standards were introduced (between 1994 and 1996) will be
unable to enter the New Zealand fleet after 1 April next
year. Vehicles already registered in New Zealand will not
be affected.

"The frontal impact protection system is the
most important advance in vehicle safety technology since
the seat belt. Compliance with an approved standard can
literally mean the difference between life and death in a
crash."

While there has been widespread support for the
rule because of the acknowledged safety benefits, some had
argued it should be delayed, rather than introduced in
April.

“The problem is that our fleet is aging
significantly. Because of safety advances like frontal
impact systems, newer vehicles are much safer than older
vehicles. But the age of our fleet is heading in the wrong
direction. In 1996 the average imported car was 6.1 years
old, and now it is 7.5 years old.

This rule will
accelerate the rate at which newer used cars come into New
Zealand.

“With no intervention it’s estimated that all
imports would comply by 2009, but we want the safety
benefits much earlier than that.”

The Frontal Impact Rule
also makes it a legal requirement to replace damaged or
deployed airbags in vehicles up to 14 years old, and
introduces new requirements for the supply and use of
replacement parts when a vehicle is repaired.

Also
announced today was the Tyres and Wheels Rule, which
includes new requirements relating to the use of space saver
tyres. The rule states that space saver tyres can only be
used in an emergency, and that the manufacturer’s
recommendations relating to tyre pressure and maximum speed
must be followed. These changes also come into effect from
April 1.

"Cars will be legally limited to a maximum speed
of 80km/h when a space saver tyre is being used, unless the
manufacturer recommends a lower limit. People will also be
legally required to inflate space saver tyres to the
recommended pressure - which is much higher than for a
normal tyre," Mr Gosche said.

Minor revisions have also
been made to five existing vehicle standards rules covering
door retention systems, external projections, steering
systems, head restraints and interior impact standards.

Mr
Gosche said all the new vehicles safety rules would play an
important part in the government's determination to bring
the road toll down.

"Vehicles are getting safer all the
time as new technology is developed. These rules will help
to ensure that as many New Zealanders as possible enjoy the
benefits of these advances."

More vehicle safety rules are
likely to be introduced next year, to ban water damaged
vehicles, improve standards for seatbelts and introduce more
stringent border inspections, Mr Gosche
said.

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